Your Rights Under The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)

November 14, 2019 • By Jonathan Young 

The Fair Labor Standards Act is a Federal Law which establishes minimum wage, overtime pay eligibility, wage record keeping, and child labor standards.  It affects full and part-time workers in the private sector, and all workers in the Federal, State, and Local governments.

The most common interaction with the FLSA has to do with appropriate pay for overtime work.  First, it must be determined whether or not you are eligible for overtime.  If you are a “non-exempt” employee, you are eligible for payment of time and a half your hourly rate for all hours in excess of 40 hours in a single work week.  Most employees who are exempt from overtime pay are those that are involved in executive, administrative, professional, computer, and/or outside sales jobs.  There are also people who have the independent ability to make decisions on behalf of their employer.

The Wage and Hour Division of the United States Department of Labor administers and enforces the FLSA.  Employees covered under the FLSA are entitled to a minimum wage of $7.25 per hour, effective July 24, 2009.  They also must be paid an overtime rate of not less than one and one-half times their regular rates of pay after 40 hours of work in a work week.  There are special rules for tipped employees, industrial home work, as well as certain sub-minimum wage provisions allowable.